Filed: Feb. 02, 2001
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 2 2001 FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT PATRICK FISHER Clerk SHARON DAY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. No. 00-1068 (D.C. No. 95-B-2170) RICHARD SHOCKLEY, Sheriff of (D. Colo.) Larimer County; TIMOTHY PALMER, unknown agents on the Swat Team and Commissioners for Larimer County, Defendants-Appellees. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before BRISCOE , ANDERSON , and MURPHY , Circuit Judges. After examining the briefs and appellate record,
Summary: F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 2 2001 FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT PATRICK FISHER Clerk SHARON DAY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. No. 00-1068 (D.C. No. 95-B-2170) RICHARD SHOCKLEY, Sheriff of (D. Colo.) Larimer County; TIMOTHY PALMER, unknown agents on the Swat Team and Commissioners for Larimer County, Defendants-Appellees. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before BRISCOE , ANDERSON , and MURPHY , Circuit Judges. After examining the briefs and appellate record, t..
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F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FEB 2 2001
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
SHARON DAY,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 00-1068
(D.C. No. 95-B-2170)
RICHARD SHOCKLEY, Sheriff of (D. Colo.)
Larimer County; TIMOTHY
PALMER, unknown agents on the
Swat Team and Commissioners for
Larimer County,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before BRISCOE , ANDERSON , and MURPHY , Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination
of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
In the early morning hours of August 26, 1993, plaintiff Sharon Day and
two other individuals were forcibly evicted pursuant to a writ of restitution from
a ranch property they were renting, after the property was legally transferred to
a new owner through foreclosure. Plaintiff filed this pro se lawsuit under
42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging a violation of her civil rights. The district court
denied plaintiff’s motions for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, for appointment
of counsel, and for a transcript at government expense; granted summary
judgment in favor of defendants on plaintiff’s due process claim; entered
judgment against plaintiff based on the jury’s verdict on her remaining excessive
force claim; and denied plaintiff’s motion for a new trial. She appeals,
representing herself. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
Plaintiff argues on appeal that: (1) the district court erred in denying her
motion for new trial because the verdict was against the weight of the evidence;
(2) defense counsel prejudiced her by referring to her as a liar in front to the jury;
(3) she was denied a fair trial because two of the defendants gave perjured
testimony; (4) she was at a disadvantage due to lack of funds; (5) the district
court erred in denying her motion for appointment of counsel; and (6) the district
court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of defendants on her due
process claim.
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We are unable to review plaintiff’s first three issues on appeal because she
did not provide a trial transcript. Under 28 U.S.C. § 753(f), a plaintiff in a civil
proceeding may obtain a transcript at government expense if she is permitted to
proceed in forma pauperis, moves for a transcript, and demonstrates a substantial
question for appeal. Plaintiff filed the necessary motions, but did not convince
the district court that she was entitled to proceed in forma pauperis or had a
substantial question for appeal. Her argument that she was at a disadvantage due
to lack of funds amounts to an assertion that the district court erred in denying her
leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
We review the district court’s decision to deny leave to proceed in forma
pauperis for abuse of discretion. See Denton v. Hernandez ,
504 U.S. 25, 33
(1992). We find no error. As a result, plaintiff was not entitled to a transcript at
government expense under § 753(f). In the absence of a trial transcript, we must
accept the district court’s factual findings as correct. Trujillo v. Grand Junction
Reg’l Ctr. ,
928 F.2d 973, 976 (10th Cir. 1991).
We review the district court’s decision not to appoint counsel for abuse of
discretion. Miller v. Glanz ,
948 F.2d 1562, 1572 (10th Cir. 1991). We find no
error.
Finally, we review the grant of summary judgment on plaintiff’s due
process claim de novo, using the same standard under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) as
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applied by the district court. Ford v. West ,
222 F.3d 767, 774 (10th Cir. 2000).
Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, and admissions on file, if any, show that there is no genuine issue
as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a
matter of law.” Rule 56(c). As thoroughly explained by the district court in its
January 11, 2000 order, plaintiff’s property interest in the ranch property was
extinguished when the foreclosure was adjudicated, and she therefore cannot
maintain a due process claim based on insufficient service of the writ of
restitution. We affirm this issue on the district court’s reasoning.
AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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